IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Ambassador of China, Nong Rong on Wednesday offered his country’s cooperation for exploring initiatives to transform Islamabad into a smart city with introduction of automation, in su-pervision and management.

The envoy made the offer in a meeting with Capital Development Authority’s chairman, Aamer Ali Ah-med.

The introduction of the Civil Servants Rules 2020 by the PTI government are a manifestation of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s promise of bringing reforms in the bureaucracy. Many notable professionals have said for decades that the bureaucratic system in Pakistan is in need of a serious overhaul, in order to make it responsive to the many challenges of governance faced by the country. Advisor to the Prime Minister on Institutional Reforms and Austerity, Dr Ishrat Hussain, has plenty of ideas on the subject of bringing change in public administration, but political constraints mean that the process may require more time and effort to come in full swing.

Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif on Monday said the government was speedily moving towards e-governance and after land record management information system, e-stamp papers system had been launched in 144 tehsils of the province.

“The new system is a revolutionary step of the Punjab government for the elimination of corruption and forgery,” he said adding that 70-years old system of judicial and non-judicial stamp papers had been replaced with the new system in the province.

Minister of State of Information Technology, Anusha Rehman on Wednesday met with Secretary General of International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Houlin Zhou and emphasized collaboration for connecting the unconnected through broadband platforms.

At an ITU Telecom World event in Budapest, Hungary, the Minister during the meeting highlighted that in order to achieve success on the UN global agenda for ICTs for Sustainable Development, clear guidelines with national goals and Key Performance Indicators should be identified to member states with a yearly follow-up.

The government has decided to constitute a Commission to be chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for national digitisation in the country.

This was stated by Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja, who further stated that the government will do legislation for national digitisation in the country as there is a paradigm shift and needs automation for increased transparency and infrastructure development.

ADC (Revenue) Waqar Cheema says software built for the purpose was incompatible with servers provided

Islooites will have to wait, God knows better how long, to acquire computerised copies of documents related to the sale, purchase and transfer of land as the previous progress on the project has become irrelevant due to continuous delay of over a decade.

In 2006, the project was launched by E-government Directorate of the Ministry of Information Technology to digitise land record of 112 revenue estates under the ambit of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).

Last month the Lahore High Court convened an IT Fair in the halls of the Punjab Judicial Academy.

The first impression the fair gave out to visitors was that of a computer market with a broad display of desktops, keypads, wide screen monitors, mobile phones etc.

An overwhelming sentiment of optimism arose from the participants as they shared and expressed the view that information technology will play a pivotal role in the judicial reform under way.

He was addressing as chief guest at a seminar on CRMS which was arranged by National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) at a local hotel. While lauding the role of NADRA, the Minister said that with the technical support of the Authority regarding training of local governments a catalyst change in the society is expected.

Chief Secretary Muhammad Saleem on Friday hailed the efforts of the Performance Management and Reforms Unit and particularly appreciated the Pakistan Citizen Portal, and the Revenue Case Management systems.

A handout said he directed the officials to strictly monitor the file- tracking system in order to speed up official matters. He also directed them to submit complete data of the performance of all the districts and monitoring and evaluation of government institutions.

However, in the modern trade environment such paper-based exchanges cannot satisfy the need for efficiency and security. One globally tried and tested method of addressing this problem that has been recommended by UNECE is "Single Window".

Existing laws on cyber security need a rethink to fight against crimes involving identity theft

Numerous data breaches have taken place in Pakistan in recent years, which point towards the need for the country to rethink its cyber security strategy in the fight against identity theft. Pakistan needs to place the development of robust data protection and cyber crime laws at the centre of a broader cyber security strategy that brings the rights of citizens to the forefront.

We have all been waiting for the story of information technology in Pakistan to unfold and show its true potential but short-lived plans and senseless bans seem to hold it back.

Log on to Twitter and you’ll find the youth helplessly pulling their hair out at yet another policy intervention (or lack thereof) that’s completely divorced from the realities of the evolving global digital landscape, and blaming ‘boomers’ for being in charge. Equally frustrated journalists would club those failures with the broader bureaucratic inefficiencies and inertia of the government towards reform and meaningful change in most sectors. While this criticism does have value in keeping the decision-makers on their toes, pushing them to act and holding them accountable, it does not offer a meaningful insight into the crux of the problem. It’s akin to slapping your old, withering computer randomly out of frustration enough times and the computer jerking into action; sure, it’ll work for a bit but only to break down yet again. Eventually, you’ll have to take a deep breath, pull the computer apart and really troubleshoot to see what’s going on in order to fix it for real.

While continuous efforts are being made to make Islamabad a smart city after Lahore, authorities seem to be failing at the very basic step of ensuring traffic regulations. A senior official of the Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) said that only 40 percent of traffic signals installed in the federal capital at different intersections are in working condition while talking to the national newswire agency APP last Friday.

According to the official, despite repeated requests to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) from the ITP; there are total 83 signals across the capital, out of which only 33 signals are working, while the remaining 50 signals (roughly 60 percent) are not functioning correctly.

Managing everyday finances can be a daunting task for more than three million estimated small and micro enterprises in Pakistan.

Financial literacy stands at a low of 13%, which results in lack of financial freedom and friction points in daily transactions. Be it making bill payments, the society has been highly cash-dependent.

With this in mind, and with the 2013 manifestos of mainstream political parties already published, The Express Tribune performed a comparative analysis of their respective IT policies, in a bid to understand exactly how these parties plan to contribute to the growth of this sector.

Raza Arshad, an information technology consultant, said it is an uphill task to govern Pakistan through the prevalent bureaucratic red tape.

While corruption remains stubborn and police highhandedness is on the rise, quality of services delivered by the public sector is worsening.

Digitization and technology hold the promise of progress and prosperity for almost every country including Pakistan. Similarly, Information Technology (IT) has become a fundamental part of industry and manufacturing.

The technologies like Internet of Things (IoT), big data, robotics, automation, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, mobility and others continue to have a growing effect on society, economy and environment.

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has termed connectivity, data centers, firewall protection, and smart governance vital for establishing a robust digital corridor to fueling economic growth and ensuring global competitiveness in the digital age.

He was talking to a delegation of Huawei Pakistan led by its CEO Ethan Sun in Islamabad today.

The Minister stressed on establishing a Digital Corridor, acknowledging Pakistan's role as a prime ground for digital economic expansion.

While successive governments in Pakistan have talked a good game on public sector reforms, they more or less lacked a coherent strategy. Background discussions indicate that “technology” can be the pivot through which the much-needed reforms can be introduced to the public realm. This is not to minimize the role of political will and systemic resistance to reforms, but digital transformation can assist government departments in better fulfilling their mandates. Some examples are already there.

For instance, if it wasn’t for NADRA’s tech-based operational efficiencies, citizens would have a hard time getting identity documents issued or verified. Ongoing Covid-19 vaccinations wouldn’t be a smooth experience if NCOC hadn’t used available technology platforms. NITB’s City Islamabad App has brought much convenience. Driving-license issuance in ICT and Punjab is now less hassle-prone due to technology. Provincial IT Boards have also done some good work on public record digitisation.

With the current market push towards a digital economy, every enterprise is exploring ways to move with the change. Like private enterprises, nations are also joining the race of eGovernment, eFinance, and eLearning. In such a backdrop, not having a path to full digitization can be viewed as a lack of innovation from executive leadership.

The path to digital transformation is littered with pitfalls and loss of associated investments. A significant number of these initiatives either fail altogether or deliver partial results.